| Javier Zanetti may well have handed Inter the Scudetto with a last-gasp equaliser after Francesco Totti had given Roma the lead. This keeps the nine-point gap at the top of the table intact, but Inter were playing with 10 men for 25 minutes due to Maxwell's injury before Philippe Mexes saw red. The top two came together just as the Nerazzurri seemed to be running out of steam, losing 2-0 to Liverpool in the Champions League and held 1-1 by Sampdoria to cut the gap to nine points. Notably, Inter were undefeated in Serie A since the last time Roma visited on April 18, 2007, coming away with a 3-1 victory. That was the Giallorossi's second straight win here and they were going for the hat-trick despite missing Juan and the suspended Cicinho with Amantino Mancini not 100 per cent fit.
Inter had Ivan Cordoba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz, Walter Samuel, Olivier Dacourt and Cesar Aparecido sidelined, so a reshuffle in defence and attack was demanded with a 4-3-2-1 system.
Francesco Totti threaded through for Simone Perrotta and Julio Cesar was alert to smother it. The goalkeeper also blocked a dangerous Marco Cassetti cross and on the counter from that move Hernan Crespo drilled over the bar. Crespo deserved to open the scoring with an absolutely stunning finish on 18 minutes. His extraordinary scissor-kick with his back to goal cracked against the inside of the upright and flashed all the way across to go out the other end! Totti drilled wide from Daniele De Rossi's assist, but the deadlock was broken on 38 minutes in Roma's favour. Marco Tonetto's sweeping cross from the left found Totti for a splendid left-foot volley in at the near post, as he got in front of former teammate Cristian Chivu. Nicolas Burdisso had the best chance to equalise before half-time, his header from a corner kick skimming the crossbar. Mancini made a change at the break, introducing striker David Suazo for midfielder Dejan Stankovic, returning to a more typical system. Rodrigo Taddei got the better of Chivu, but couldn't keep his right-foot strike on target. Luis Figo's volley was ballooned over, so Mancini went for broke with 17-year-old hitman Mario Balotelli making up a trident attack, replacing midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, and Pele' taking over from fellow countryman Figo. It inevitably left them open at the back and Taddei's lob from the D skimmed the upright. Balotelli's fierce drive was deflected out for a corner, but it was Roma who were dominating now. Perrotta rolled across for the totally unmarked Alberto Aquilani to fire straight at Julio Cesar's legs. Maxwell was stretchered off after falling awkwardly, but as Mancini had already completed all three substitutions, Inter were left with 10 men for the final 25 minutes. Roma were dominating as Vucinic did well to pass across to Perrotta, whose angled drive was deflected out for a corner by Burdisso. Aquilani and De Rossi skimmed the woodwork, as the Giallorossi couldn't make their dominance count. Instead, the tension got to Roma, as Philippe Mexes picked up his second yellow card for going through the back of Crespo and was livid with the referee, but his teammates were more angry at the Frenchman. This left both teams with 10 men for the final six minutes. The whole momentum of the match changed and Crespo's fantastic looping header was fingertipped out from under the crossbar by an equally stunning Alexandre Doni save. With two minutes left on the clock, captain Javier Zanetti picked up a poor clearance to the edge of the box and unleashed a right-foot rocket on the bounce that slotted in at the near bottom corner. It was a rare goal for the veteran and San Siro exploded, as this result could effectively secure the Scudetto. The game turned nasty in stoppages with a series of scuffles and tough tackles. There were also extra injury minutes added on as Cassetti fell badly on to his left shoulder. | 
